The story of "Pink Floyd

Roger Keith (Syd) Barrett, 6 January, 1946
George Roger Waters, 9 September, 1943
Richard William Wright, 28 July, 1945
Nicholas Berkeley Mason, 27 January, 1945
David Jon Gilmour, 6 March, 1946

About 1965, the Floyd-to-be formed as "Sigma 6." They then changed to "The T-Set" ("Tea Set"), then "The Meggadeaths," "The Architectural Abdabs," "The Screaming Abdabs," and simply "The Abdabs." At this point, the band's membership consisted of:

  • * Roger Waters, lead guitar
  • * Clive Metcalf, bass
  • * Richard Wright, keyboards
  • * Nick Mason, drums
  • * Juliette Gale, vocals
  • * Keith Noble, vocals

    The Abdabs mostly played rhythm and blues songs. Juliette later married Wright, and she, Noble, and Metcalf all quit the band. Waters then brought in Bob Close and Syd Barrett for guitars, then later Close left, leaving the original recorded Pink Floyd lineup. In late '65, they became "The Pink Floyd Sound," then just "The Pink Floyd." The name Pink Floyd came from albums by two blues artists, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, that were in Syd Barrett's collection. It had often been said that using the name came to Syd in a vision.

    The Floyd began to attract attention in mid-1966, frequently playing such underground hangouts as The UFO Club and The Marquee Club's Spontaneous Underground. It was during this time that they made the transition from playing psychedelic R&B covers to doing their own songs; almost exclusively Syd Barrett compositions. As Floyd biographer Miles has said about this period, "The Floyd were the loudest band anyone had ever heard at that time. They were also the weirdest. They were the underground band."

    The Floyd's growing underground popularity led to a single, "Arnold Layne," released in March of 1967. It entered the British charts at #20, resulting in national media exposure for the band. Their followup single, "See Emily Play," stayed on the charts for 7 weeks, reaching #6. The Pink Floyd's first LP, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, also remained on the charts for 7 weeks, and also reached #6.

    The success that followed their first two singles and Piper proved to be too much for Syd, as the vast quantities of drugs he was taking in, the blind worship of his fans, and other factors all made him unpredictable on stage and in the studio. The other members of the group decided to bring in an additional guitarist to cover for Syd, and thus David Gilmour was asked to join the band (Jeff Beck was also considered, but the band was in awe of him, and thought he would command too high a price). Gilmour (not the same as jazz musician David Gilmore ;) had established a reputation as a guitarist and vocalist in the group "The Jokers Wild".

    With the addition of Gilmour and Syd's declining state, it was shortly decided that the band could carry on without him, and so one night they simply didn't pick him up on the way to a show. Barrett went on to record two solo albums (with the assistance of the Floyd's members), and while he remained (and remains) a cult hero, he never achieved the musical popularity on his own that he did with the group.

    Pink Floyd, meanwhile (having shed the "The" part of their name along with Syd), went on to be fantastically successful, follwing a somewhat rough start sans Barrett. They continued as a foursome from Saucerful through Animals; it was during the Wall sessions that Rick Wright was forced out of the group (See P3Q30). By this time as well the lyrical and conceptual ambitions of Waters were clashing full on with the musical ideas of Gilmour; on the subsequent Final Cut album, Gilmour acted as essentially a session musician. At that point, it seemed impossible that they would ever work together again, and thus Pink Floyd was seen as dead. To heighten this impression, both Waters and Gilmour produced solo albums, neither of which did terribly well on the charts or as draws for the tours the two embarked on.

    In short, Waters decided to officially leave the group; Gilmour and Mason subsequently decided to record an album under the Pink Floyd name. Waters, who thought the name best layed to rest, sued them over its use.

    Waters also remained active musically, following up his first solo album, Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, with contributions to the little known movie soundtrack, "When the Wind Blows." His next solo album was Radio KAOS, for which he again toured. Again, neither was a great success commercially; certainly not by Pink Floyd standards. Later, in 1990, he staged what was certainly one of the more memorable music "events" in recent history, with his Wall in Berlin charity concert. His most recent work, Amused to Death, was not the sales success it was hoped it would be, despite much commercial hype. This was to the great disappointment of many of his fans, who thought that AtD was his best work yet.

    Meanwhile, Pink Floyd did not die, certainly not legally, and in the minds of many fans, not in spirit either. Their first post-Waters release, A Momentary Lapse of Reason, went on to become a major success, and the 2 1/2 member Floyd followed it up with an extensive world tour. After several years off, the group, now with a full three members, released The Division Bell, and embarked on another tour.